Sigyn, built in Gothenburg 1887, now museum ship in Turku, is the last remaining wooden barque used for trade across the oceans. At the time she was built there were thousands of similar vessels, but she was one of the last ones built. She was quite small even for her time, considering she was built for long-distance trade, but well built and considered fast and beautiful.
In these times the steam ships were taking over the most important routes; the Suez canal was already built and the Panama canal was planned. The tonnage of steam ships passed that of sailing ships in 1890, ten and thirty years later in Sweden and Finland respectively. On the other hand, this was the time when big barques of steel were built. Sigyn was planned for another niche: the small size and small draught made her suited to also use small remote harbours.
The first decade Sigyn sailed on the Atlantic on tramp trade, mostly with wood (pine, spruce, pitch pine, mahogany, cedar), but also e.g. coal, probably sugar, once even hay. In 1897 she made one journey to Bangkok. After 1900 she sailed mostly in European waters.
After being severely damaged while seeking shelter outside Kristiansand 1913, Sigyn was rerigged as a barquentine. She was already old for being a softwood ship and the freight prices on ocean trade were declining, so a cheaper rig suited for coastal trade on the Baltic and North Sea seemed appropriate. This changed with the World War: transatlantic trade became very profitable and she crossed the Atlantic 12 times in 1915 and 1916.
After Sigyn ran aground in 1917 the copper hooding protecting against shipworm was removed and sold. Sigyn was thus no longer fit for the oceans. She was bought by Salsåkers ångsåg, a Swedish sawmill by the Gulf of Bothnia.
In 1927 Sigyn was sold to Finland, like many other sailing ships in these times, when steel and steam were taking over in richer countries. The buyer Arthur Lundqvist from Vårdö in the Åland islands was one of the last big peasant shipowners. The shipping companies of the family remain as Lundqvistrederierna.
As museum shipEdit
As representative for "nautical circles" Otto Andersson, rector of Åbo Akademi, proposed 1936 the foundation of a maritime museum in Turku. A museum ship was needed and Sigyn was soon considered the best alternative. At that time there were only a few museum ships worldwide and Sigyn was to be the first in Finland.
Sigyn was bought 1939 and opened for the public 3 June 1939. Before the end of the year the Winter War begun, followed by the Continuation War. Sigyn was damaged, and there was a severe lack of funds and people for her maintenance.
After the wars there were negotiations about Sigyn sailing as merchant ship again and thus earning the needed money herself. There was a shortage of tonnage after the war, so this would be profitable, but risky. The proposition was eventually turned down and Sigyn was repaired by donated money. 1948 she was again opened for visitors. In 1950 she even sailed on Airisto outside Turku as part of a film, Laivan kannella (Sigyn had had such a role once before, 1916 for Terje Vigen).
Sigyn's hull was partly renewed 1971–1972 at the Suomenlinna shipyard. Funds were not sufficient though and not until 1979 was Sigyn reopened for the public, now again as a barque. By 1994 Sigyn's hull was weakened by constant flexing, and a floating dock called "Loke" was constructed to help reduce the problem. Sigyn's hull was again renewed 1998-2001, now to a big part. This work was carried out at Sjökvarteret in Mariehamn, where Albanus and Linden had been built and thus much knowledge about wooden ships acquired. Some work has also been done in Turku, where Sigyn now is moored by Forum Marinum in the Aura River.
ReferencesEdit
Jerker Örjans (2007). Sigyn - ett lyckosamt skepp, Första upplagan, Åbo: Stiftelsen för museifartyget Sigyn. ISBN978-952-92-1869-1
sigyn, ship, sigyn, built, gothenburg, 1887, museum, ship, turku, last, remaining, wooden, barque, used, trade, across, oceans, time, built, there, were, thousands, similar, vessels, last, ones, built, quite, small, even, time, considering, built, long, distan. Sigyn built in Gothenburg 1887 now museum ship in Turku is the last remaining wooden barque used for trade across the oceans At the time she was built there were thousands of similar vessels but she was one of the last ones built She was quite small even for her time considering she was built for long distance trade but well built and considered fast and beautiful Sigyn in the Aura River in Turku 2021 HistoryFinlandNameSigynLaunched1887Maiden voyageGothenburg Southampton 1887In service1887 1938IdentificationIMO number 8640325StatusMuseum shipGeneral characteristicsTonnage378 GRT 356 NRT 500 DWT tonnesLengthLOA 57 5 m LWL 42 7Beam9 mDraught4 0 m fully loaded Propulsionsails onlySail planbarque sail area 1000 m2Speedbest day average 11 5 knotsCrew10 11 Contents 1 As merchant ship 2 As museum ship 3 References 4 See alsoAs merchant ship EditIn these times the steam ships were taking over the most important routes the Suez canal was already built and the Panama canal was planned The tonnage of steam ships passed that of sailing ships in 1890 ten and thirty years later in Sweden and Finland respectively On the other hand this was the time when big barques of steel were built Sigyn was planned for another niche the small size and small draught made her suited to also use small remote harbours The first decade Sigyn sailed on the Atlantic on tramp trade mostly with wood pine spruce pitch pine mahogany cedar but also e g coal probably sugar once even hay In 1897 she made one journey to Bangkok After 1900 she sailed mostly in European waters After being severely damaged while seeking shelter outside Kristiansand 1913 Sigyn was rerigged as a barquentine She was already old for being a softwood ship and the freight prices on ocean trade were declining so a cheaper rig suited for coastal trade on the Baltic and North Sea seemed appropriate This changed with the World War transatlantic trade became very profitable and she crossed the Atlantic 12 times in 1915 and 1916 After Sigyn ran aground in 1917 the copper hooding protecting against shipworm was removed and sold Sigyn was thus no longer fit for the oceans She was bought by Salsakers angsag a Swedish sawmill by the Gulf of Bothnia In 1927 Sigyn was sold to Finland like many other sailing ships in these times when steel and steam were taking over in richer countries The buyer Arthur Lundqvist from Vardo in the Aland islands was one of the last big peasant shipowners The shipping companies of the family remain as Lundqvistrederierna As museum ship EditAs representative for nautical circles Otto Andersson rector of Abo Akademi proposed 1936 the foundation of a maritime museum in Turku A museum ship was needed and Sigyn was soon considered the best alternative At that time there were only a few museum ships worldwide and Sigyn was to be the first in Finland Sigyn was bought 1939 and opened for the public 3 June 1939 Before the end of the year the Winter War begun followed by the Continuation War Sigyn was damaged and there was a severe lack of funds and people for her maintenance After the wars there were negotiations about Sigyn sailing as merchant ship again and thus earning the needed money herself There was a shortage of tonnage after the war so this would be profitable but risky The proposition was eventually turned down and Sigyn was repaired by donated money 1948 she was again opened for visitors In 1950 she even sailed on Airisto outside Turku as part of a film Laivan kannella Sigyn had had such a role once before 1916 for Terje Vigen Sigyn s hull was partly renewed 1971 1972 at the Suomenlinna shipyard Funds were not sufficient though and not until 1979 was Sigyn reopened for the public now again as a barque By 1994 Sigyn s hull was weakened by constant flexing and a floating dock called Loke was constructed to help reduce the problem Sigyn s hull was again renewed 1998 2001 now to a big part This work was carried out at Sjokvarteret in Mariehamn where Albanus and Linden had been built and thus much knowledge about wooden ships acquired Some work has also been done in Turku where Sigyn now is moored by Forum Marinum in the Aura River References EditJerker Orjans 2007 Sigyn ett lyckosamt skepp Forsta upplagan Abo Stiftelsen for museifartyget Sigyn ISBN 978 952 92 1869 1See also EditCharles W Morgan wooden whaling barque built 1841 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sigyn 60 26 10 N 22 14 14 E 60 43611 N 22 23722 E 60 43611 22 23722 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sigyn ship amp oldid 1163175331, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
